Senate Dem reintroduces Equal COLA Act, and more

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., on Tuesday reintroduced legislation aimed at standardizing the annual cost-of-living adjustments federal retirees receive each year.

The Equal COLA Act (S. 624) would stipulate that enrollees in both the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees Retirement System receive the same cost-of-living increase each year. Companion legislation in the House was introduced by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., last month.

Currently, the CSRS calculates cost-of-living adjustments based on the annual change in the third quarter consumer price index for workers, while FERS COLAs are based on an extrapolation of that figure: if the CSRS sees an increase of under 2%, FERS retirees will receive the full increase. But if the adjustment is between 2% and 3%, FERS participants would only receive a 2% increase. And if the CSRS adjustment is at least 3%, FERS retirees would receive that increase, minus 1 percentage point.

In a statement, Padilla said the bill has renewed urgency as the Trump administration conducts mass firings across government, and after agencies offered early retirement to much of the eligible federal workforce as part of its deferred resignation program.

“Federal retirees who have worked in service to our country should receive the full cost-of-living adjustment each year that is consistent with national economic trends,” Padilla said. “As President Trump and Elon Musk threaten the hard-earned benefits of our federal workforce, we must ensure the nearly 800,000 federal retirees living on fixed incomes receive the full amount they deserve to keep up with the cost of living.”

Lawmakers, unions provide resources to embattled feds

As the Trump administration continues its campaign to purge federal workers from government agencies, Democratic lawmakers and union officials have promulgated resources to help employees protect themselves and their rights in recent days.

Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., whose district was home to more than 80,000 federal employees before Trump and Elon Musk’s firing campaign began, directed feds to a web page hosted by Civil Service Strong aimed at informing them of their workplace rights. Beyer also has launched a tipline for potential whistleblowers to disclose wrongdoing at their agencies.

“Please know that your work is essential to the functioning of the U.S. government,” Beyer wrote. “The Trump administration and his allies who continuously attack the valuable work you do are out of touch with reality and seem to want to break the government to prove their delusional narrative that the government isn’t functional and replace civil servants with political cronies and business associates.”

Civil Service Strong’s web page addresses several of the Trump administration’s planned changes to the federal workforce, including Schedule F—now Schedule Policy/Career—and reductions in force. And it reminds probationary workers, many of whom have been fired over the last week, that though their rights are abridged compared to other feds, they still have appellate rights.

“Though federal employees on their probationary period are not covered by the due process rights that apply to non-probationary employees, merit system principles still apply,” the site states. “[Prohibited] personnel practices make it illegal, for example, to discriminate based on a range of protected classes, including political affiliation. If you are a probationary employee who has been terminated and you think the termination (or other adverse personnel action) is based on a prohibited personnel practice, you should consult your union or legal counsel, as you may be able to file a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel, pursue a remedy under any applicable collective bargaining agreement, file a complaint under the civil rights laws or have other remedies.”

The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers issued its own guidance to local union leaders Monday, including advice such as urging employees to print hard copies of their employee file, including pay stubs, performance reviews, awards, commendations, as well as any correspondence from supervisors, particularly any that relate to DOGE-related directives. And any bargaining unit employees who are asked to speak with DOGE representatives should invoke their Weingarten rights to have a union representative present.

“We understand that these are very trying times for all of your locals and the membership,” wrote IFPTE president Matt Biggs. “Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with information about what is going on in your respective workplaces and we will work to help mitigate the damage and help you navigate through it.”